John "Jack" Owen was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 footballer who played as a left half

Wing half

In association football, the position of wing half or wing half back) was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries...

 for Newton Heath

Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...

 from 1887 to 1892. He also won one cap for Wales

Wales national football team

The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...

 while with Newton Heath.

Born in Chirk

Chirk

Chirk is a small town and local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It has a population of over 4,000....

, Denbighshire

Denbighshire

Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...

, Owen began his football career with Chirk

Chirk AAA F.C.

Chirk AAA F.C. is a Welsh football team based in Chirk, Wales. They have been competing in the Premier division of the Welsh National League since their relegation after one season in the Cymru Alliance.....

 before signing for Newton Heath in October 1887. His elder brother, William, also signed from Chirk at the same time. Owen scored six goals in 90 appearances over the span of a five-year career with the Heathens, before losing his place to new signing Fred Erentz

Fred Erentz

Frederick Charles "Fred" Erentz was a Scottish footballer who played at half back and full back for Dundee Our Boys and Newton Heath in the 1880s, 1890s and early 1900s....

, who would go on to serve the club for almost 10 years.